


umbrella

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Mentions of various other characters - Freeform, Multi, Sleep Deprivation, ish for both of those
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-05
Updated: 2015-05-05
Packaged: 2018-03-29 02:56:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3879538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi doesn't sleep, the recruits don't think.<br/>They are partially right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	umbrella

Levi doesn't sleep, the trainees whisper amongst themselves, near enough quiet that they don't think Levi can hear.

The shadows under his eyes are certainly deep enough, they figure, and he's always staring at something all creepy-like. He speaks in monotone, mostly, and he only moves quickly to make a point. There is just enough evidence for them to believe that there's no way that this freaky titan-killing prodigy ever goes to sleep.

They're right, mostly. Most of the time, Levi stays awake as long as possible, by way of tea, listening to Hange blather on and on about Titans, and, when he's up to it, late-night visits to Erwin's office to do exactly what you'd think they do in an office late at night.

The rare times when Levi does sleep, it's in that office, curled up in Erwin's armchair like a cat.

-

_"Isabel?" he asks. She looks the way she always does, with her red hair in ponytails. "Isabel, what are you doing here? You have to go back."_

_Isabel laughs at him, her grin wide and infectious. "C'mon, Levi! Farlan's waiting around the corner!"_

_He follows her down the hallway, getting ever closer to the corner. He hasn't seen Farlan or Isabel in months, not since-_

_Levi freezes in his steps, and Isabel turns to look at him._

_"What's wrong, Levi? Don't you wanna see Farlan?"_

_"You're dead," Levi says. "You're dead, you and Farlan, I saw it myself. You're dead. You died."_

_Isabel looks sad now, and as Levi watches, flesh disappears from her body._

_"Aw, aniki," she says, tilting her head. "You ruined it."_

_Levi reaches out for Isabel, desperate._

-

Levi wakes up in the chair barely an hour after he fell asleep.

"Oh," Erwin says, glancing over at him. "You slept longer than usual."

Levi grimaces, stretching. "Fuck off," he says, moving lazily out of the office. "I'm gonna go bug Hange."

"Have fun with that," Erwin says, looking back to his report.

Levi flips him off over his shoulder as he walks down the hallway.

-

Hange, as usual, has nothing useful to contribute to the conversation, but they know more dick jokes than any one human should, and they are ridiculously good at mocking Erwin and the other nobles.

Levi snickers over his steamy cup of tea as Hange pulls their eyebrows up to a ridiculous angle  
.  
"Guess," they cajole, "guess who I am."

"Give me a hint," Levi laughs, even though he already knows damn well who they're impersonating. "Like, a quote, or something."

Hange takes a deep breath, and Levi knows _exactly_ what's about to happen.

"Son," Hange declares in a booming voice, "I don't care. I will sacrifice that _baby_ for humanity, I don't give a shit. I don't care if your spine is broken, take down that Titan for humanity."

Levi keeps laughing quietly. "Erwin, yeah? From that time when he gave a ten-year-old a blade and told a whining little brat to keep fighting with a broken leg and broken wrist?"

"In my defense," Erwin says from behind Levi, "that ten-year-old did end up taking down a Titan, and the recruit _could_ have kept fighting."

"Yeah," Levi says, "but the kid stabbed his uncle."

"His uncle was totally begging for it, though," Hange says. "I would've stabbed him, too."

"Don't condone intra-familial violence, Hange," Erwin says, sitting down with them at the table.  
Hange and Levi laugh, like Erwin never condones familial violence.

Erwin takes the laughter for a couple of minutes, then checks his pocket watch.

"Recruits wake up in an hour," he notes. "Levi, you might wanna try looking less happy."

Levi scowls at Erwin. "Eat shit."

"Right, just like that," Erwin says, standing up from the table. "I have to go, anyway. You two have fun."

Hange bursts out laughing at Levi's expression.

"Shut up," he growls, pushing his chair away from the table.

-

The next two weeks are not remarkable.

-

During the night, Levi and Hange meet in the basement, and they stay together in huffed breaths and speedy moans.

Levi goes up to Erwin's office afterwards to take a nap.

"Why do you always end up here?" Erwin inquires. "Can't you sleep in your bed?"

"Go to hell," Levi murmurs, already half-asleep.

-

_The soldier reaches out for him, on the dirty street. "L...lance corporal," he mumbles. "Did I...do something...important?"_

_Levi can't look at this soldier, can't look him in the eye, can't touch him._

_"P-please sir...please....tell me..."_

_Levi turns away from this soldier, refuses to look at him._

_"Levi?" Petra asks. "Levi, what are you doing?"_

_He turns away from her, too, only to see Oluo. "Corporal, c'mon. Just tell him."_

_He turns, again, and sees Erd. "Sir," he says. "Just say it."_

_"Leave me alone," Levi says, staring at his feet. "Leave me alone. You're all dead."_

_He hears nothing else, and when he looks up, they're all gone._

-

"Even longer this time," Erwin comments, shuffling paper. "You're getting better."

"Fuck you," Levi mumbles, readjusting his position. "I'm going back to sleep."

Erwin smiles at his files.

-

_"Levi," Petra says. "Levi, it's okay. We love you, Levi."_

_"Yeah," Oluo says. "Come on, it's okay. We forgive you."_

_Erd and the rest of him just smile, and Levi smiles too._

_"Bye, Levi," they call._

_"Bye," he replies._

-

"Have a good nap?" Hange asks, swinging their legs back and forth on Erwin's desk. "Erwin says you slept for six hours last night."

"Six hours longer than he usually sleeps," Erwin murmurs, dodging the shoe Levi had chucked at him.

"Don't be mean, heichou," Hange teases. "Erwin's just being accurate. You don't sleep. It's scary."

"You're scary," Levi retorts. "You have a creepyass grin."

"Do not!"

"You do, Hange," says Erwin. "It scares the new recruits."

Levi laughs while Hange sticks their tongue out at Erwin.

-

The week is unremarkable.

-

That night, Erwin, Hange, and Levi spend the night in Levi's seldom-used bedroom.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" Hange asks. "Come on, there's room."

Levi shakes his head. "I don't sleep here."

Erwin laughs. "What, do you only sleep in my office chair?"

Levi doesn't respond, and Hange and Erwin laugh raucously. "You're kidding," Hamge says breathlessly. They look at Levi's face. "You aren't kidding."

Levi shakes his head.

-

Levi isn't sure how, in this godforsaken world, he ended up in a wheeled office chair being pushed down the hall at top speed, with some crazy person laughing too loud in his ear.

But he loves it.

-

Levi sleeps a long, dreamless sleep.

He is in love times two again.


End file.
